Svetlana's Reads and Views

Diverse Reads on my Blog #19 When I was a teenager, I learned a fascinating fact of the human mind in a psychology class: the longer you get used to something or someone, the less likely you are to do anything about it. I also had a horrible realization: in five months, it will be 2 years since so many divisions have occurred among the people and families. 2 years...if that's not depressing, then I don't know what that is. Blast from the Past:  For Better, for worse, forever-Lurlene McDaniel April thinks she and Mark will be together forever. But since Mark's death, she has never felt more alone. Then Brandon Benedict comes into her life. Brandon is lonely and angry- he and April have a lot in common. Their closeness helps them both heal. But April cannot tell Brandon about her illness. When April's medical problems suddenly return, she must decide what to tell Brandon. Can the strength of the love she has felt before help her now? Why its diverse: Basicall...

Trial on Mount Koya by Susan Spann Publication Date: July 3, 2018 Seventh Street Books Paperback & eBook; 256 Pages Genre: Historical Mystery Series: Hiro Hattori, Book #6 Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Jesuit Father Mateo head up to Mount Koya, only to find themselves embroiled in yet another mystery, this time in a Shingon Buddhist temple atop one of Japan's most sacred peaks. November, 1565: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo travel to a Buddhist temple at the summit of Mount Koya, carrying a secret message for an Iga spy posing as a priest on the sacred mountain. When a snowstorm strikes the peak, a killer begins murdering the temple's priests and posing them as Buddhist judges of the afterlife--the Kings of Hell. Hiro and Father Mateo must unravel the mystery before the remaining priests--including Father Mateo--become unwilling members of the killer's grisly council of the dead. Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Ind...

Name of Book: My Dear Hamilton Author:   Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie ISBN:   9780062466167 Publisher: William Morrow Year it was published: 2018 Summary: From the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. Haunting, moving, and beautifully written, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right. A general’s daughter… Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young...

Name of Book: The Great Alone Author:  Kristin Hannah ISBN:   B06Y5WRS2C Publisher:  St. Martin's Press Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Alaska, 1974. Untamed. Unpredictable. And for a family in crisis, the ultimate test of the human spirit. From the author of the worldwide phenomenon, The Nightingale, comes a story of a family in crisis and a young girl struggling to survive at the edge of the world, in America’s last true frontier. In 1974, when thirteen-year-old Leni Allbright’s volatile, unpredictable father, Ernt, a former POW, loses another job, he makes an impulsive, desperate decision: he will move the family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the land in a spectacular wilderness. At first, the eighteen hour sunlit Alaskan summer days and the generosity of the locals make up for the family’s lack of preparation and dwindling resources, but winter in Alaska will reveal their every weakness. As the vast Alaskan landscape gro...

Okay, so before I begin a book spotlight for THE SECRET LIFE OF MRS. LONDON by Rebecca Rosenberg, let me first give a link to my review: CLICK HERE  and then briefly talk about my impressions of the book.  Probably like most readers, I only knew of Jack London through his CALL OF THE WILD and WHITE FANG fame. I had no sense nor idea of him as a person, and I also knew almost next to nothing about Harry Houdini. While both men are covered well, it is their wives  and the friendship that they have that truly shine in the book. I can guarantee that this is a book that will long stay with you and you won't look at either the wives nor Houdini nor London the same way again.  THE SECRET LIFE OF MRS. LONDON San Francisco, 1915. As America teeters on the brink of world war, Charmian and her husband, famed novelist Jack London, wrestle with genius and desire, politics and marital competitiveness. Charmian longs to be viewed as an equal partner who put her own career o...

Book Details: Book Title: The Pumpkin Patch by Sandi Smith Category: Adult Fiction, 316 pages Genre: Mystery Publisher: Mindstir Media Release date: November 5, 2017 Tour dates: June 25 to July 20, 2018 Content Rating: PG-13 + M Book Description: How can one small-minded, angry person destroy the lives of so many people in her path, connecting them all together in a game of destruction and heartbreak? It is possible, but what pushes a person to enjoy inflicting pain to such an extent, leaving a trail of hate, anger, and defeat behind her, which only seems to make her stronger and more satisfied. Ms. Terri Plotski, owner of the Authors’ Book Agency, is that person, who, unknowingly, with a single thread of hate, has connected the lives of a small group of people, bringing them together with one single common denominator. Anger. The anger from this small group of people is building, but it has nowhere to go, or does it? Ms. Terri Plotski, owner of Authors’ ...

Book Details: Book Title: The Last Dance by Lonna Enox Category: Adult Fiction, 226 pages Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Women Sleuths Publisher: Lonna Enox Publications Release date: June 24, 2016 Tour dates: June 18 to July 13, 2018 Content Rating: PG-13 + M ​ Book Description: Saddle Gap, a quiet little town in southwestern New Mexico, seems the perfect place for Sorrel Janes to start her life over. But within a few days, she finds herself entangled in two murders, the object of harassment, and the number one suspect in a murder. Will her past terrors destroy her future dreams? Amid the evolving conflicts, she resolves to reconstruct her new life and find happiness. Detective Chris Reed is equally resolved to solve the murders as well as Sorrels secrets. Neither of them suspects where the steps of this dance will lead, but they are too stubborn to sit this one out. ​ To follow the tour, please visit Lonna Enox's page on iRead Book Tou...

Name of Book: The Undeground River Author: Martha Conway ISBN: 978-1-5011-6020-2 Publisher: Touchstone Type of book: 1838, sinking boat, Underground Railroad, Ohio River, map lines, North and south,  freedom, babies, acting, sewing, adventure. Year it was published: 2017 Summary: The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Set aboard a nineteenth century riverboat theater, this is the moving, page-turning story of a charmingly frank and naive seamstress who is blackmailed into saving runaways on the Underground Railroad, jeopardizing her freedom, her livelihood, and a new love. It’s 1838, and May Bedloe works as a seamstress for her cousin, the famous actress Comfort Vertue—until their steamboat sinks on the Ohio River. Though they both survive, both must find new employment. Comfort is hired to give lectures by noted abolitionist, Flora Howard, and May finds work on a small flatboat, Hugo and Helena’s Floating Theatre, as it cruises the border between th...

Name of Book: Trial on Mount Koya Author: Susan Spann ISBN: 978-1-63388-415-1 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Shinobi Mystery Type of book: 1565, mystery, Japan, Buddhist Temple, message, murder, Kings of Hell, ideologies, love, hope, anger Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Jesuit Father Mateo head up to Mount Koya, only to find themselves embroiled in yet another mystery, this time in a Shingon Buddhist temple atop one of Japan's most sacred peaks. November, 1565: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo travel to a Buddhist temple at the summit of Mount Koya, carrying a secret message for an Iga spy posing as a priest on the sacred mountain. When a snowstorm strikes the peak, a killer begins murdering the temple's priests and posing them as Buddhist judges of the afterlife--the Kings of Hell. Hiro and Father Mateo must unravel the mystery before the remaining priests--including Fathe...

Book Details: Book Title: The New Adventures of A.R. Achnid (Revised Edition) Author: Sandi Smith Illustrator: Kathy Lee Category: Children's Fiction, 126 pages Genre: Children's Chapter Book, Animals, Bugs & Spiders Publisher: Mindstir Media Release date: January 3, 2017 Tour dates: June 18 to July 13, 2018 Content Rating: G Book Description: Harold! There goes that spider! See, he is running on the floor! That spider has to go. He cannot live here anymore!!! Oh, no! Beth looks very, very angry. What has A.R. Achnid done now? Well, before A.R. got into big trouble with Beth, he had a lot of wonderful adventures. There are ten different adventures in this book. There is the time he went to the circus and rode on a balloon, and then had some shoo fly pie. Another day, A.R. and Rex (a Great Dane, who is A.R.’s best friend) decided to walk all the way into town, and they had such a wonderful time. Then, A.R. and his family went to New Yor...

< Book Details: Book Title: Signs in the Rearview Mirror: Leaving a Toxic Relationship Behind Author: Kelly Smith Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 214 pages Genre: Self-help, Relationships Publisher: Sunny Day Publishing Release date: April 2018 Tour dates: June 18 to July 7, 2018 Content Rating: PG-13 (This book contains real-life violence, but also meant for young people who are old enough to date) Book Description: What kind of person ends up in toxic relationship? And why does she stay? This searingly honest novel answers both those questions head on. Coming-out of a failing marriage, Kelly turns to Gabe out of fear offing alone. Her gradual slide into danger is at once terrifying and inevitable, and the steps she takes to get out of it will both inspire and offer help. ​ Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble Add to Goodreads Meet the Author: Boston born and raised, Kelly now makes her home in Austin with her ...